VLC Streamer vs Apple TV
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
VLC Streamer
Stream your entire movie collection from your PC to your iPhone, iPod, or iPad without conversion. Enjoy your favorite films anywhere in your house with easy setup and customizable controls.
- Stream movies from PC
- No conversion needed
- Browse local drives and network shares
- Customizable gesture controls
- Support for multiple resolutions
- Live video streaming
Read full descriptionHide full description
Sit anywhere in your house and watch movies or TV shows on your iPhone, iPod or iPad. VLC Streamer streams movies from your computer to your iDevice. Winner *Best Entertainment App* Chip.de. You can watch anything from your movie collection. No need for complex conversion processes. No need to manually transfer programs to your device. “Can these guys do no wrong? Seriously, if only other app devs knew how to make apps as well as these guys, the world would be a better place. Or at least my device would be less buggy. I was just watching a Full HD copy of Avatar Extended Edition being streamed from my PC on my iPod Touch 2nd Generation and it looked and played amazingly.” - UK Reviewer “…it's as good as having the original VLC player on your iOS device…” - CallingAllGeeks.org “…Setup is a snap and literally takes 2 seconds. You can browse through all your movies from your device and click any one to start playing. It even works if you have the movies stored on a USB drive connected to the host computer.” -The Times of India “Took me seconds to setup to stream from a secondary drive in my home office. Going straight out to get a cable for my TV.” - USA Reviewer “….This sucker can stream off the pc and plays virtually anything you throw at it. Download it now!” - TaxiDriver at Blippy.com There are a huge number of movie formats, and VLC can convert most of them - but it can't convert everything. If you have any doubts, then please try the free version of this application first. • Features include • - Free helper app gets you streaming quickly and allows you to browse local drives, and Windows network shares - Stream over wifi directly from your computer - Customisable gesture controls - Support for multiple resolutions and streaming quality levels - Live streaming of video after a few seconds of processing (assumes a reasonably powered computer) • System Requirements • - VLC Streamer will not play DRM protected videos. Videos from the iTunes store do include DRM. - VLC Streamer is designed to work on your local network, and the free helper app has to run on your Mac or PC. - Supports Windows, Vista, Windows 7 and Window 8 - Supports Mac OS 10.7 and above. • Response to feedback • -If you do have any problems streaming movies, then please just check the help instructions in the app. Feel free to drop me an email (my personal mail is in the app) if you need help. • Subscription Information • VLC Streamer is supported through an auto-renewing subscription which you can choose to purchase within the app. • The subscription is called 'VLC Streamer Annual Subscription ' • It is an annual subscription. It gets rid of the adverts and unlocks all functions, including downloading movies to your device • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase • Terms of use are available at https://HobbyistSoftware.com/terms • Privacy policy is available at https://HobbyistSoftware.com/privacy Enjoy!
Apple TV
This app is a central hub for exclusive original series, movies, and live sports like Formula 1 and MLB. It also aggregates content from your favorite streaming services, allowing you to buy or rent titles and discover new shows.
- Exclusive Apple Originals
- Live Formula 1 & MLB
- Buy or rent movies
- Aggregate streaming services
- Personalized recommendations
- Continue Watching feature
Read full descriptionHide full description
Apple TV is the home of exclusive Apple Original shows and movies, Formula 1®, MLS, Friday Night Baseball, thousands of movies to buy or rent, and all the best programming from your favorite streaming services — all in one place. With an Apple TV subscription: • Stream thousands of hours of Apple Originals—thrilling dramas, epic sci-fi, and feel-good comedies, all with no ads—including Ted Lasso, Severance, The Morning Show, Silo, Shrinking, Slow Horses, and F1 The Movie. • Enjoy new releases weekly, with no ads. • Watch every Formula 1 Grand Prix™ live—with all-access coverage for every practice, qualifying, Sprint, and race. • Watch Friday Night Baseball, with live MLB matchups every Friday of the regular season. • Watch every Major League Soccer match live throughout the regular season, the entire playoffs, and Leagues Cup, all with no blackouts. Discover more to watch: • Buy or rent newly released movies, and browse the Apple TV Store with over 100,000 movies and shows—including the largest selection of 4K HDR titles. • Add Apple TV Channels subscriptions and stream seamlessly in the Apple TV app — no additional apps, accounts, or passwords needed. • Connect over 100 video streaming apps to access all your favorite shows and movies in one place. Apple TV app makes all your TV watching easier: • Get personalized recommendations across everything you watch. • With Continue Watching, pick up where you left off across all your subscriptions and devices. • Add to Watchlist to keep track of what you want to watch later. • Browse sports to see live and upcoming matchups, and choose your favorite teams to automatically add games to Continue Watching and receive notifications for close games and more. • Easily find all of your purchased movies and shows in the Library. • Enjoy the best picture and sound quality in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos when available. • Stream over a Wi-Fi or cellular connection, or download to watch offline. • Find the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac, as well as smart TVs and streaming devices. Requirements: • iOS devices using iOS 12.3 or later • Some features require internet access over a Wi-Fi or cellular data connection • HDR video playback may not be available for all content or on all devices Apple TV subscription does not include third party-branded subscription services or content available for rental or purchase in the Apple TV app. In select regions, an Apple TV subscription may only be available as part of an iCloud+ subscription. If you subscribe to any Apple TV channels, payment will be charged to your Apple Account at the confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless they are canceled at least 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Simultaneous streams may be limited on a per-subscription basis. The availability of Apple TV features, channels, and related content may vary depending on the country or region from which you attempt to access them. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your Settings on the Apple TV app after purchase. See https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww for the Privacy Policy. Apple TV app Terms and Conditions can be found at https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/us/terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Apple TV at none against VLC Streamer's 4. Apple TV also leads on ratings volume (1.9M vs 415) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). VLC Streamer's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. VLC Streamer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Apple TV asks for nothing beyond the download.
Apple TV holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Apple TV has 1.9M ratings behind it against 415, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of VLC Streamer's written reviews are positive against 43% of Apple TV's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
VLC Streamer ships an update every 3 months, Apple TV every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | VLC Streamer | Apple TV |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (415 ratings) | 4.8 (1.9M ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 45.7% of reviews — better | 43.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 415 | 1.9M — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 10.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Hobbyist Software Limited | Apple |
Customer experience
VLC Streamer
Apple TV
User reviews
VLC Streamer
From 415 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Smooth streaming
- 💡 Useful for accessing media library
- 👍 Great customer support
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 🔋 High CPU usage on host computer
- 🔒 Security concerns with open access to computer
- 💸 Aggressive monetization with ads and subscription model
Apple TV
From 1.9M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Decent quality viewing experience
- 👍 Impressive 4K and audio quality
- 🤩 Fantastic original content
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable app
- 🤯 Confusing and unintuitive interface
- 💰 Misleading pricing and pay-to-watch content
- 🤔 Lack of user-friendly features
- 😡 Terrible customer support
Bugs and requests
VLC Streamer
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inability to detect/connect to host computer
- Inconsistent video quality and buffering issues
- Conversion process causing overheating on host computer
Requested features
4 requests- Remote access from outside home network
- Improved codec support, especially for MKV files
- Resume playback from last position
- Ability to manage/delete files from mobile device
Apple TV
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes frequently
- Playback issues and random freezes
- Incorrect episode/content display
- Syncing problems across devices
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to save/bookmark content for later
- Improved content organization and navigation
- Sync playback progress across devices
- Chromecast/casting support
- User profiles and personalized recommendations
In-app purchases
VLC Streamer
- VLC Streamer Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- VLC Streamer Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- VLC Streamer Annual7 Days trial$2.991 Year
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- VLC Streamer Annual7 Days trial$5.991 Year
Apple TV
No in-app purchases









